An upcoming book written by former Defence Secretary Jim Mattis’s ex-speechwriter Guy Snodgrass, reveals some juicy comments the Pentagon ex-head made on Trump and his decisions.
In particular, the book, named ‘Holding the Line: Inside Trump's Pentagon with Secretary Mattis,’ says the outspoken military veteran compared Trump’s policy on Russia to “sex in the 1990s.”
“All about instant gratification,” it adds, according to The Daily Beast.
In 1999, James Mattis was 49 years old.
In the book, Mattis also laments Trump’s propensity to announce important state decisions via Twitter, which at times has caught his own cabinet by surprise. In particular, Mattis commented on Trump’s tweeted decree banning transgender people from serving in the military, saying that the president was holding the entire government hostage.
“No one move or the hostage gets it!” Mattis is quoted saying, while pointing a finger gun to his head.
One of the juicier quips by the military veteran was in regard to Trump’s intention to conduct a lavish military parade in Washington. Mattis, a staunch opponent of the idea, said at one point that he would rather “swallow acid” than let Trump have the parade, which he believed would “harken back to Soviet Union-like displays of authoritarian power,” alongside wasting an estimated $50 million.
According to Snodgrass, Trump got enthusiastic about the parade idea after witnessing the Bastille Day parade in France.
"I want vehicles and tanks on Main Street, on Pennsylvania Avenue, from the Capitol to the White House. We need spirit! We should blow everybody away with this parade. The French had an amazing parade on Bastille Day with tanks and everything. Why can’t we do that?”, Trump is quoted saying.
Trump eventually threw his parade on 4th of July this year, after Mattis resigned in December 2018.
Snodgrass’s book is scheduled for publication on 29 October.
